Mandatory jabs are growing in commonality as more US companies ask their customers and employees to join the vaccination bandwagon.

Cruise ships and parcel delivery services are among some of the latest companies in the United States mandating COVID-19 vaccines.

Passengers boarding Walt Disney cruises require proof of vaccination following the company’s relaunch of their cruise service. 

The Disney cruise line will commence its first sailing since trips were cancelled at the beginning of the pandemic. 

In line with their updated policy, all passengers aged 12 and older are required to be fully vaccinated before boarding the cruise en route to the Bahamas on September 3. 

Passengers who fail to show proof of vaccination will be barred from boarding the ship. 

“The Bahamas will require that all passengers ages 12 and older be fully vaccinated in order for a ship to be allowed entry into any of its cruise ports,” Disney said in a statement. 

“This includes private islands like Disney Castaway Cay.”

A change of heart?

Initially, the company did not insist on such mandatory measures.

However, advice from the US health regulator warned those who were at high-risk of contracting the virus to avoid cruising, in turn leading to a decline in potential customers. 

Cruise line Royal Caribbean have also implemented similar measures for cruise ships departing Seattle and the Bahamas among other destinations. 

The policy changes are in line with the Bahamian government’s new requirements to have all cruise ship passengers and crews vaccinated against coronavirus. 

Even the mailman needs a vaccine

Postal and delivery company United Parcel Services also joins a long line up of US companies mandating vaccines for their employees. 

Concerns surrounding the increase in case numbers from the Delta strain encouraged the company to implement the mandate. 

“In certain US office locations where employees have been working remotely, UPSers must be vaccinated when they return to office,” the company said in an emailed statement.

“Those office environments are very different from our operating facilities, which have been safely staffed in-person since the beginning and throughout the pandemic.”

All three companies follow suit, joining several other US workplaces and services that mandate vaccines for their workers.

America reported an average of 320 COVID-19 infections per one-hundred thousand people in the last week.

Written by Rebecca Borg